A Fractured Paradise
Description I originally began writing this as a School project. It is a Side story to my Immortal Chronicles series. Enjoy. A Fractured Paradise Chapter 1 Artemis leapt down from the giant tree, landing softly on the ground. He crouched in place for a moment, watching for any Machina soldiers that may have been around, then stood and rushed through the forest. Behind him, his companions, Matthew and Dorian, fell from the same tree, and followed closely behind, "So... where are we going, Artemis?" Matthew questioned, leaping over a large rock, "Hush!" Artemis warned, placing a finger over his lips, "Do you want the machines to hear us?" "Sorry, not everyone can be as quiet as Dorian," Matthew whispered. Dorian smiled, but his green eyes kept looking ahead of him through the forest, silent as the trees they rushed past, "Why do you think I invited him along?" Artemis asked, ducking under a tree branch. Matthew rolled his eyes, "Then why did you ask me to join you two," He pointed out, rather smartly, "Simple, to get you to stop begging," Artemis retorted, smirking. Dorian chuckled, and flipped over a large bush in his way. The trio sped through the thick woods, moving as fast as they would in a wide open meadow, leaping over deep gorges and diving over boulders with masterful skill. Artemis is 16 years old, and one of the most mature children in his village. He was also one of the best warriors around, able to hold his own against the rest of his class. He was 10 years old when the Machina Regime, a great and evil army of machanical soldiers, arived on his home world, Debesis. The accursed robotic beings had attacked his village, and killed his mother and father. He had fled the village, with Dorian, never to return. They arrived to another village, hidden deep in the Sapitiem Forest and told of their terrible ordeal. They were both taken in by Master Young, their trainer and mentor. Dorian was 13 when the Machina attacked, and hasn't spoken since then. Matthew was born in the Sapitiem Village, and knew the forest like the back of his hand, which is the real reason why Artemis asked him to join them. However, Matthew's skills where a bit weak compared to Master Young's other students, and he was still "young and foolish", as Master Young said. As the three of them neared the forest's edge, Dorian suddenly came to a stop and faced in the direction they had just came from, "Dorian... whats wrong?" Matthew asked, stopping as well. Dorian turned toward Artemis and nodded back towards the village with an annoyed look on his face. Artemis rubbed the rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighed, and looked back at Dorian, "Shes following us, isn't she?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Dorian nodded. Artemis sighed again and looked back towards the village, "Alright Lauren, we know you are there," He called out, not worried about the Machina at the moment, A lovely teenage girl stepped out from behind a tree, her clothes dirty and worn, just as theirs. Her brown hair was long, reaching down to her waist, and she flashed a playful smile, "What's wrong boys?" She asked, placing her hand on her hip, "Can't stand being followed?" "No, but in a world where watching your back is a matter of life and death, it's not exactly a comfortable feeling," Artemis replied with a grin, "You're telling me," She said, walking up to them, "So... where in the world are you three heading this time? Or is it so secret that you don't even know, Arty?" Artemis frowned. He hated when she called him that, "That's what I asked him a few miles back," Matthew pipped up, sitting down on a stump. He unsheathed a dagger and began sharpening a stick, "Well, you all know that it has something to do with the Machina..." Artemis began, "It's ALWAYS something to do with the Machina," Lauren interupted, walking in a tight circle around the group, "Yeah, why can't you two ever just... I don't know... explore the forest, like I do?" Matthew asked, testing how sharp the stick was. He drew his finger back with a silent "ouch", "Because, we are warriors, not explorers. Besides, haven't you already mapped out the entire forest, Matthew?" Artemis asked, "So? Just because you're warriors, doesn't mean you can't have a little fun, right Dorian?" Lauren said, not letting Matthew answer Artemis' question. Dorian just shrugged in a way to say he doesn't really care, "Fun? How much fun can you have while always hiding in the shadows?" Artemis pointed out, "You two can go have all the "Fun" you want... Dorian and I are going to go fight for our freedom," He turned and sped down the hill towards the edge of the forest, Dorian following close behind, "You have to admire his bravery..." Matthew said, standing next to Lauren, "There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity," Lauren replied, "Sometimes I'm not sure which side of that line Artemis walks on..." She and Matthew took off after the others, leaving the safty of the forest. It felt good to run through the plains again, Artemis just wished that he could do so without fear of being captured, or worse. The four of them stuck close to the tree line, just in case one of the Machina's Arial vehicles roared overhead. Usually, the entire village wouldn't be able to sleep, because of the sound of thousands of ships screaming over the Sapitiem Forest. Today, however, there hadn't been a Machina in sight, and some of the villagers believe that the dreaded machines had left their planet, but Artemis knew this wasn't so. Great quantities of black clouds still billowed over the mountains, from the mines that the Machina had set up, "They will never leave... not unless we make them..." He thought to himself. He looked back at his companions, and realized that he was far ahead of them, "What's wrong you three? Can't keep up?" He joked, but he swallowed his words as an Earth Dragon smashed out of the forest before him. The great beast lashed out with it's tail, launching Artemis a few feet through the air. Dorian charged forward, smashing his fist against the Dragon's jaw. The monster stumbled but retaliated by striking Dorian with it's snout, throwing the silent warrior over it's spined back. He landed on his back with a thud, grunting with annoyance. The Dragon turned, lifted it's leg, and brought it crashing down upon the earth where Dorian had been just a second before. Lauren had grabbed Dorian and pulled him out of the way at the last second, "I can't watch your back forever, Dorian," She smiled, letting him go. The two landed softly on the ground, and dodged a blow from the monster's tail. Matthew slid underneath the Dragon, pounding its unprotected belly with his bare fists, but it did little damage. The beast reared back on its hind legs, roared, and fell downwards toward Matthew. The warrior barely had time to get out of the way, before the Dragon smashed against the ground beneath it, Artemis rushed into the battle, leaping onto the beast's head and pounding against it's snout. The monster roared in pain, swinging its head around trying to throw Artemis off, but he held fast continuing his assault, "Lauren! Try paralyzing it's legs!" He yelled out. Lauren closed her eyes, visualizing the beast's every nerve, then charged forward. She flipped over the monster, striking a spot just before it's tail with two of her fingers. With a small pulse of spiritual energy, she caused the Dragon's tail and hind legs to become limp. The beast roared in surprise as it's lower body collapsed to the ground, "I don't know how long it will last, so whatever you have planned do it now!" Lauren said, dodging a swipe from the Dragon's claws. Artemis nodded, and let the beast throw him off. He flipped through the air, landing beside Dorian and Matthew, "Help Lauren distract the Dragon," He ordered. Matthew and Dorian nodded, rushing back to Lauren. Artemis inhaled deeply, stretching his arms to either side of him. His concentration was interrupted by the ground shaking beneath his feet. Huge boulders rose from the earth and began swirling around the Dragon. The beast turned towards Artemis, staring with a deep hatred, its snout bruised and swollen, "Oh, this is going to be bad..." Artemis said to himself. The Dragon roared, launching the giant rocks towards Artemis. The warrior began dodging the massive boulders, unable to focus his spiritual energy. The rocks struck against the ground, leaving ugly craters in the beautiful meadow, and fractured on impact. Artemis couldn't take much more of this. Just as he dodged one, another boulder flew towards him faster then the rest. He couldn't dodge it! Artemis closed his eye and prepared for the bone crushing strike, but it never came. Dorian jumped in front of Artemis, and lashed out against the incoming boulder, his fist surrounded by spiritual energy. The huge rock seamed to explode as it met Dorian's punch, and a large dust cloud shrouded the two warriors from sight. The Dragon stood, its hind legs coming out of paralysis, lashing out against Lauren and Matthew who, in turn, dodged out of the beast's way. The monster paused, looking back as the dust cloud cleared. Artemis and Dorian stood there, unphased and smiling. Artemis threw out his arms, gathering the spiritual energy from around him. The Dragon growled and began galloping towards him, intent on crushing Artemis. Dorian rushed out before Artemis but was thrown out of the monster's path by Matthew, "Are you crazy?!" Matthew yelled, looking back at Artemis, who Lauren was rushing to defend. The beast reached him first, rearing up on it's hind legs ready to come crashing down on the warrior. Just then, Artemis opened his eyes, and thrust his arms forward. An explosion of unseen spiritual energy struck the Dragon's exposed underbelly, and the beast was thrown backwards into the forest, toppling everything in its path. Artemis smiled, and fell to his knees, exhausted from the attack, "We... we did it..." He panted as Lauren reached him. As he began to stand, she slapped him across the face, but before he could ask why, she embraced him in a hug, "Nice work, Arty..." She congratulated, releasing him. Dorian and Matthew came over, patting Artemis on the back, "Thank you, all of you. We make a great team. Now, lets head back home. I think that we've had enough excitement for today," Artemis said, deciding not to continue with his original plans with the Machina. He turned towards the forest and ran back in the direction of the village, the others close behind him. They had had a long day, and were eager to return. Category:Stories Category:Baracuss